As you roam the cosmos in Starfield, you’ll invariably come into conflict with various pirates, bandits, mercenaries, bounty hunters and other opportunistic ne’er-do-wells. Once vanquished, these enemies may drop some of the gear they were carrying, as well as random bits of loot - ammo, aid, credits, etc. Converting all these spoils into credits is a key way to build up your own cash reserves, and to do that you’ll need to make use of merchants. This page will provide information about finding merchants, selling loot, and getting vendors to restock their wares and available credits.
(1 of 2) The locations of merchants (or pretty much any POI, for that matter) aren’t marked on your map - you’ll have to be on the lookout for stores. The person behind the counter is your best bet.
The locations of merchants (or pretty much any POI, for that matter) aren’t marked on your map - you’ll have to be on the lookout for stores. The person behind the counter is your best bet. (left), Many ports also have Trade Authority kiosks you can sell wares at. (right)
Where to Find Merchants in Starfield¶
The galaxy is a big place, and wherever you find people, commerce isn’t far away. The best places to look for merchants are bastions of civilization, usually the game’s major cities, like 
New Atlantis (which you’ll visit during the first main story quest), 
Neon, 
Akila City and 
Cydonia. You can also find Starstations in various solar systems - docking with these will often lead to you finding merchants to deal with. In addition, you can also find the odd trader vessel flying around space - just search the local system in the star map and check for black and white diamond icons. Just be wary when it comes to Starstations, as some of them are effectively dungeons occupied by… well, not merchants. If you don’t get a response when you hail the Starstation, you’re probably not going to find commerce aboard.
Unfortunately, even if you know generally where to look, finding merchants can still take a bit of effort. The maps in Starfield - such as they are - aren’t terribly informative, and shops aren’t usually listed on the map. You’ll generally find vendors in buildings, sitting or standing at or near a desk. Most ports also have a Ship Services Technician that allows you to upgrade, repair and purchase ships, and while their use as a vendor is limited, there’s usually a terminal or kiosk nearby that will allow you to offload excess loot. Just play through the main questline until you reach New Atlantis and you’ll find some vendors to trade with. If you keep focusing on the main story you’ll shortly find yourself on Cydonia and Akila City, which will give you even more options.
(1 of 2) All vendors have a limited supply of credits,
All vendors have a limited supply of credits, (left), but if you wait 48 hours (UT) they should restock. (right)
How to Get Merchants to Restock Their Credits¶
Finding a merchant to do business with is all well and good, but there’s another complication: different vendors have varying amounts of credits available at any given time. This tends to vary between vendors, not for vendors - a dubious merchant in some rundown hole in the wall that has 1,500 credits one visit is likely to have the same amount later, while a more connected, well-to-do merchant may have 5,000 or even 10,000 credits regularly. Once their funds are depleted, you won’t be able to sell to them for a time. Well, they’ll still take your wares if you offer them, but that kind of defeats the point? That’s right, in Starfield the laws of physics as we understand them are regularly flouted, by the law of supply and demand is ironclad.
Time heals all wounds, however, and if you want long enough the market will do its thing and your vendor’s wares and liquid capital will replenish. This usually takes around 48 hours, Universal Time (UT). Find a bench, couch or chair, sit down and press the prompt to wait (
on Xbox) or head to your ship and take a nap on the bed(s) there. After enough time has passed the vendors will have enough money to buy your ill-gotten gains off of you.
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